


Seau Rouillé

by jayeinacross



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: AU: Space, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen, Trope Bingo Round 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-26
Updated: 2013-08-26
Packaged: 2017-12-24 16:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/942281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayeinacross/pseuds/jayeinacross
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enjolras wonders frequently if staying on this ship was a mistake, but some things make him reconsider his doubts. He hasn't seen Jehan smile like this in years, and even though times like these are few and far apart, separated by countless nights and days full of delusions and terrors, Enjolras is sure that things would be worse if they were with anyone but the crew of Seau Rouillé. [Firefly fusion.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seau Rouillé

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anemonepetrie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anemonepetrie/gifts).



> for dear [Joly Bean](https://twitter.com/joly_bean), have a wonderful birthday! <3333333
> 
> written for the trope bingo square "au: space"

Enjolras wonders frequently if staying on this ship was a mistake, but some things make him reconsider his doubts. He hasn't seen Jehan smile like this in years, and even though times like these are few and far apart, separated by countless nights and days full of delusions and terrors, Enjolras is sure that things would be worse if they were with anyone but the crew of Seau Rouillé. He's surprised that they were so open to letting he and Jehan stay on the ship, thieves harbouring fugitives, but they're an odd sort anyway, and Enjolras can only be grateful for that. Grantaire, though, he can't get a read on -- he'd been so adamant that Enjolras and Jehan be left behind at first that his offer to let them stay in the end had been confusing to say the least. Perhaps Combeferre and Courfeyrac had vouched for him, as they'd done earlier, when Grantaire had been set on letting him rot on some barren planet, during the chaos with Valjean and Cosette and Javert, but it still doesn't make much sense to Enjolras. Grantaire seems to swing between casually joking and abruptly curt, like he can't decide where he wants to be, or maybe Enjolras just doesn't understand the man. He leads a life that Enjolras and his brother are now a part of, but it's still too new for Enjolras, living as a criminal and going wherever jobs or the stars take them, but it seems like the whole crew are all too happy living as wanderers and wouldn't want anything else.

For Enjolras, it's all too easy to imagine another life from this, but as soon as he thinks of it not including Jehan, that illusion shatters.

It's a rare quiet day on Seau Rouillé. There's a lull while they travel to Persephone to line up a new job after the successful one they've just finished, and everyone's satisfied. Jehan is getting a little livelier, the nightmares and voices he screams about forgotten for now, while Eponine shows him the inner workings of Seau Rouillé's engines. She can be a little short with them at times, partly because the mess of an arrival on this ship also got tangled up with Marius' departure with Cosette and her father, and partly because she's not one to trust easily. But she's developed some respect for Enjolras, having proved himself useful on a few occasions, and she likes Jehan's genuine interest in how the ship works. Enjolras slips away after a while, when he doesn't think his presence will be missed, though it's hard to tear himself away from the sight of Jehan being so happy. As he's leaving, he bumps into Courfeyrac in the hall, who glances inside the engine room.

"She'll be talking for hours," Courfeyrac tells him, smiling. "Always jumps at the chance to show off Seau Rouillé, and I can't blame her."

"I think Jehan would be happy to listen for as long as Eponine can talk," Enjolras admits, smiling back. Courfeyrac makes that easy. "He's always loved ships, but never had the chance to fly in one before."

"Not really the circumstances you were expecting?" They walk into the kitchen together, and Courfeyrac puts the kettle on. "We've all got stories, Enjolras, and few of them pleasant -- but we all ended up here, and maybe there's a reason for that."

"So you never expecting ending up on a ship full of criminals either?" Courfeyrac laughs at that, setting a teacup down in front of Enjolras, who takes an appreciative sip. Courfeyrac's always friendly, and though he's a Companion and knows how to be professional, he seems to enjoy how he can relax when it's just him and the crew around. But it's odd for a Companion to be in a place like this, when most of them stay on central planets. "How did you end up here?"

Courfeyrac shrugs. "It benefited both Grantaire and I. There are some planets that wouldn't even let a ship like this land without a licensed Companion on board, and travelling with this crew allowed me to expand my client base. But it's a little more than that now. I may not technically be a part of the crew, but that's how the others see me, and I wouldn't change that. Would you?"

Enjolras stares at him. "I don't know."

"You will." Courfeyrac sounds confident that Enjolras will be around long enough to realize the answer, and maybe he's right.

Courfeyrac leaves with another fresh cup of tea, probably taking it to Combeferre in the cockpit, where they often keep each other company on quiet days. They're close, like everyone else on this ship, and sometimes it makes Enjolras feel out of place, but things are slowly changing -- the crew's warming up, growing used to Enjolras and Jehan's presence, and everyone's starting to relax more. Bahorel wanders in a little later, followed by Grantaire, and starts rummaging around in the cupboard. They sit down with Enjolras and talk, conversation flowing easily between them, including Enjolras like it's natural as anything. The two have a long history between them, a solid friendship that's clear to see and sturdier than the solid hull of Seau Rouillé, and Enjolras is glad that they're more comfortable with him now. It's not the forced, careful casualness that he's seen them use in negotiations or outright hostility, and Enjolras is pretty sure that this is progress.

Eponine and Jehan come through a while later, and Jehan's steps are always graceful, despite the sturdy boots he wears, but he's more confident than usual today, a smile still on his face. He sits next to Enjolras at the dining table and catches the protein bar that Eponine tosses him easily, without even glancing up. Bahorel raises an eyebrow at that, which somehow leads to Jehan showing off his juggling skills, a technique that Enjolras remembers watching him perfect when he was eleven years old. This is the most peaceful that Enjolras has felt for a long time, but that night after dinner when almost everyone's retired to their rooms, Jehan knocks on Enjolras' door, pale and sick.

"Are you okay?" Enjolras leads him to the bed, helping his shaking steps. "Jehan?"

Jehan shrugs, quiet and withdrawn again.

"Were you feeling all right before?"

"I was better then. Now--" Jehan stops, frustrated that he can't find the right words, and Enjolras hates this helplessness that paralyzes them both. "I want it to be quiet. Can't sleep."

Combeferre's just finishing up in the cockpit when Enjolras finds him. He's primarily the pilot of the ship, but he's also the closest thing to a medic on the crew, though he's not a specialised doctor of any kind, mostly working to patch up minor wounds. When Enjolras tells him that Jehan's sick again, he sighs. "I'm sorry, Enjolras. I just don't know what I can do for him. My skills don't extend that far."

Enjolras knows that. He's not sure that anyone's do -- he's not even sure what happened to Jehan at the Academy, but he has to try _something_.

"Do you know anything about what they did to him?" Combeferre asks quietly. They've spoken about it, both when Enjolras had to explain their situation to the crew and again since then, because Combeferre is easy to talk to, but he still doesn't know all the details.

"No. But I have a friend -- he's a doctor, he might be able to help." All Enjolras knows is that they did something to Jehan's brain, but that's all the people who helped with the rescue told him, and he doesn't know a way to get any more information. "I just don't know how to get to him."

"You're on a ship, Enjolras." Combeferre puts a hand on his shoulder. "I know that Grantaire takes some getting used to, but if we're ever anywhere near the your friend lives on, all you have to do is ask."

There's no reason for Combeferre to lie about this, but Enjolras supposes it's just difficult to believe that these people who barely know him would do something like this, when not even his parents would lift a finger to help. But he didn't give up then, and he won't now.

When he gets back to his room, Jehan's fallen asleep by himself, curled up on the bed. He's still restless though, shifting in his sleep, so Enjolras pulls a blanket over him and sits down in the chair in the corner of the room. He'll sleep in Jehan's room later, but for now, he just watches over his brother.


End file.
